Prisoner Transferred for ''Concentrated Education''

Pastor Zhang Shaojie had been the leader of the Nanle County Christian Church in Henan. In July 2014, he was sentenced to twelve years in prison for alleged fraud and disrupting social order (read more). At the time, his family was forced to flee the country, arriving in the United States through the assistance of VOMC partner, ChinaAid.

Three years later, it was reported that Pastor Zhang was barely alive after suffering various forms of torture, and his daughter expressed concern for his mental and physical health. (A past report providing further details may be viewed here.) When family members saw him in December 2019, they reported dramatic changes to his personality and that his mental state was failing. The family also raised suspicions about the medication he had been prescribed.

It was recently reported that Pastor Zhang has now been transferred to Zhengzhou City to serve the remaining five years of his sentence. The first two months in the new prison will be for treatment misleadingly referred to as "concentrated education." Following that time, only one visitor per month will be permitted, as long as they have proof of their relationship with him.

Please intercede on behalf of Pastor Zhang, specifically for his need of mental, emotional and physical healing. Pray that the treatment he receives in prison will notably improve, and that he will get the medical attention and care he needs. Ask God to provide comfort, strength and hope not only to Pastor Zhang, but also to the concerned members of his family and church. Miraculously, may there be a way for him to be released from imprisonment earlier than the initial term.